.: Conduct & Disciplinary Rules - 7 &8: Article from Mr. K.V.Shridharan

Conduct & Disciplinary Rules - 7 : Article from Mr. K.V.Shridharan

All should read the Conduct Rules at least one time and so that the complete rules are reproduced for the ready consumption of the viewers of this blog.

Continuation from previous posting

16. INVESTMENT, LENDING AND BORROWING:

(1) No Government servant shall speculate in any stock, share or other investment:

Provided that nothing in this sub-rule shall apply to occasional investments made through stock brokers or other persons duly authorised and licensed or who have obtained a certificate of registration under the relevant law.

Explanation - Frequent purchase or sale or both, of shares, securities or other investments shall be deemed to be speculation within the meaning of this sub-rule.

(2) No Government servant shall make, or permit any member of his family or any person acting on his behalf to make, any investment which is likely to embarrass or influence him in the discharge of his official duties. For this purpose, any purchase of shares out of the quotas reserved for Directors of Companies or their friends and associates shall be deemed to be an investment which is likely to embarrass the Government servant.

(3) If any question arises whether any transaction is of the nature referred to in sub-rule (1) or sub-rule (2), the decision of the Government thereon shall be final.

(4) (i) No Government servant shall, save in the ordinary course of business with a bank or a public limited company, either himself or through any member of his family or any other person acting on his behalf, -

(a) lend or borrow or deposit money, as a principal or an agent, to, or from or with, any person or firm or private limited company within the local limits of his authority or with whom he is likely to have official dealings or otherwise place himself under any pecuniary obligation to such person or firm or private limited company; or

(b) lend money to any person at interest or in a manner whereby return in money or in kind is charged or paid:

Provided that a Government servant may give to, or accept from, a relative or a personal friend a purely temporary loan of a small amount free of interest, or operate credit account with a bona fide tradesman or make an advance of pay to his private employee:

Provided further that nothing in this sub-rule shall apply in respect of any transaction entered into by a Government servant with the previous sanction of the Government.

(ii) When a Government servant is appointed or transferred to a post of such nature as would involve him in the breach of any of the provisions of sub-rule (2) or sub-rule (4), he shall forthwith report the circumstances to the prescribed authority and shall thereafter act in accordance with such order as may be made by such authority.

17. INSOLVENCY AND HABITUAL INDEBTEDNESS:

A Government servant shall so manage his private affairs as to avoid habitual indebtedness or insolvency. A Government servant, against whom any legal proceeding is instituted for the recovery of any debt due from him or for adjudging him as an insolvent, shall forthwith report the full facts of the legal proceedings to the Government.

NOTE. - The burden of proving that the insolvency or indebtedness was the result of circumstances which, with the exercise of ordinary diligence, the Government servant could not have foreseen, or over which he had no control, and had not proceeded from extravagant or dissipated habits, shall be upon the Government servant.

18. MOVABLE, IMMOVABLE AND VALUABLE PROPERTY:

(1) (i) Every Government servant shall on his first appointment to any service or post submit a return of his assets and liabilities, in such form as may be prescribed by the Government, giving the full particulars regarding -

(a) the immovable property inherited by him, or owned or acquired by him or held by him on lease or mortgage, either in his own name or in the name of any member of his family or in the name of any other person;

(b) shares, debentures and cash including bank deposits inherited by him or similarly owned, acquired, or held by him;

(c) other movable property inherited by him or similarly owned, acquired or held by him; and

(d) debts and other liabilities incurred by him directly or indirectly.

NOTE 1.- Sub-rule (1) shall not ordinarily apply to Group ‘D’ servants but the Government may direct that it shall apply to any such Government servant or class of such Government servants.

NOTE 2.- In all returns, the values of items of movable property worth less than Rs.10000 may be added and shown as a lump sum. The value of articles of daily use such as clothes, utensils, crockery, books, etc. need not be included in such return.

NOTE 3.- Where a Government servant already belonging to a service or holding a post is appointed to any other civil service or post, he shall not be required to submit a fresh return under this clause.

(ii) Every Government servant belonging to any service or holding any post included in Group 'A' and Group 'B' shall submit an annual return in such form as may be prescribed by the Government in this regard giving full particulars regarding the immovable property inherited by him or owned or acquired by him or held by him on lease or mortgage either in his own name or in the name of any member of his family or in the name of any other person.

(2) No Government servant shall, except with the previous knowledge of the prescribed authority, acquire or dispose of any immovable property by lease, mortgage, purchase, sale, gift or otherwise either in his own name or in the name of any member of his family:

Provided that the previous sanction of the prescribed authority shall be obtained by the Government servant if any such transaction is with a person having official dealings with him.

(3) Where a Government servant enters into a transaction in respect of movable property either in his own name or in the name of the member of his family, he shall, within one month from the date of such transaction, report the same to the prescribed authority, if the value of such property exceeds two months’ basic pay of the Government servant:

Provided that the previous sanction of the prescribed authority shall be obtained by the Government servant if any such transaction is with a person having official dealings with him.]

[Sub-rule (3) amended vide the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Amendment Rules, 2011 - Notification No. G.S.R. 370 (E). 9th May, 2011, F.No. 11013/8/2009-Estt(A)]

(4) The Government or the prescribed authority may, at any time, by general or special order, require a Government servant to furnish, within a period specified in the order, a full and complete statement of such movable or immovable property held or acquired by him or on his behalf or by any member of his family as may be specified in the order. Such statement shall, if so required by the Government or by the prescribed authority, include the details of the means by which, or the source from which, such property was acquired.

(5) The Government may exempt any category of Government servants belonging to Group ‘C’ or Group ‘D’ from any of the provisions of this rule except sub-rule (4). No such exemption shall, however, be made without the concurrence of the Cabinet Secretariat (Department of Personnel).

Explanation I. - For the purposes of this rule -

(1) the expression "movable property" includes-

(a) jewellery, insurance policies, the annual premia of which exceeds [two months’ basic pay of the Government servant], shares, securities and debentures;

[For the letters, figures and words “Rs.10,000, or one-sixth of the total annual emoluments received from Government, whichever is less”, the words “two months’ basic pay of the Government servant”, substituted vide the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Amendment Rules, 2011 - Notification No. G.S.R. 370 (E). 9th May, 2011, F.No. 11013/8/2009-Estt(A)]

(b) all loans, whether secured or not, advanced or taken by the Government servant;

(d) refrigerators, radios radiograms and television sets.

2. "Prescribed authority" means -

(a) (i) the Government, in the case of a Government servant holding any Group ‘A’ post, except where any lower authority is specifically specified by the Government for any purpose;

(ii) Head of Department, in the case of a Government servant holding any Group ‘B’ post;

(iii) Head of Office, in the case of a Government servant holding any Group ‘C’ or Group ‘D’ post;

(b) in respect of a Government servant on foreign service or on deputation to any other Ministry or any other Government, the parent department on the cadre of which such Government servant is borne or the Ministry to which he is administratively subordinate as member of that cadre.

Explanation II.- For the purpose of this rule 'lease' means, except where it is obtained from, or granted to, a person having official dealings with the Government servant, a lease of immovable property from year to year or for any term exceeding one year or reserving a yearly rent.

18-A. Restrictions in relation to acquisition and disposal of immovable property outside India and transactions with foreigners, etc.

Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (2) of Rule 18, no Government servant shall, except with the previous sanction of the prescribed authority -

(a) acquire, by purchase, mortgage, lease, gift or otherwise, either in his own name or in the name of any member of his family, any immovable property situated outside India;

(b) dispose of, by sale, mortgage, gift or otherwise or grant any lease in respect of any immovable property situated outside India which was acquired or is held by him either in his own name or in the name of any member of his family;

(i) for the acquisition, by purchase, mortgage, lease, gift or otherwise, either in his own name or in the name of any member of his family, any immovable property;

(ii) for the disposal of, by sale, mortgage, gift or otherwise, or the grant of any lease in respect of any immovable property which was acquired or is held by him either in his own name or in the name of any member of his family.

Explanation.- In this rule “prescribed authority” has the same meaning as in Rule 18. 19. VINDICATION OF ACTS AND CHARACTER OF GOVERNMENT SERVANT:

(1) No Government servant shall, except with the previous sanction of the Government, have recourse to any Court or to the Press for the vindication of any official act which has been the subject-matter of adverse criticism or an attack of a defamatory character.

Provided that if no such sanction is received by the Government servant within a period of three months from the date of receipt of his request by the Government, he shall be free to assume that the permission as sought for has been granted to him.

(2) Nothing in this rule shall be deemed to prohibit a Government servant from vindicating his private character or any act done by him in his private capacity and where any action for vindicating his private character or any act done by him in private capacity is taken, the Government servant shall submit a report to the prescribed authority regarding such action.

20. CANVASSING OF NON-OFFICIAL OR OTHER OUTSIDE INFLUENCE:

No Government servant shall bring or attempt to bring any political or other outside influence to bear upon any superior authority to further his interests in respect of matters pertaining to his service under Government.

21. RESTRICTION REGARDING MARRIAGE:

(1) No Government servant shall enter into, or contract, a marriage with a person having a spouse living; and

(2) No Government servant having a spouse living, shall enter into, or contract, a marriage with any person:

Provided that the Central Government may permit a Government servant to enter into, or contract, any such marriage as is referred to in clause (1) or clause (2), if it is satisfied that -

(a) such marriage is permissible under the personal law applicable to such Government servant and the other party to the marriage; and

(b) there are other grounds for so doing.

(3) A Government servant who has married or marries a person other than of Indian nationality shall forthwith intimate the fact to the Government.

22. CONSUMPTION OF INTOXICATING DRINKS AND DRUGS:

A Government servant shall -

(a) strictly abide by any law relating to intoxicating drinks or drugs in force in any area in which he may happen to be for the time being;

(b) not be under the influence of any intoxicating drink or drug during the course of his duty and shall also take due care that the performance of his duties at any time is not affected in any way by the influence of such drink or drug;

(bb) refrain from consuming any intoxicating drink or drug in a public place;

(c) not appear in a public place in a state of intoxication;

(d) not use any intoxicating drink or drug to excess.

EXPLANATION.- For the purpose of this rule 'public place' means any place or premises (including a conveyance) to which the public have, or are permitted to have access, whether on payment or otherwise.

22-A. Prohibition regarding employment of children below 14 years of age.

No Government servant shall employ to work any child below the age of 14 years.

23. INTERPRETATION:

If any question arises relating to the interpretation of these rules, it shall be referred to the Government whose decision thereon shall be final.

24. DELEGATION OF POWERS:

The Government may, by general or special order, direct that any power exercisable by it or any Head of Department under these rules (except the powers under Rule 23 and this rule) shall, subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the order, be exercisable also by such officer or authority as may be specified in the order.

25. REPEAL AND SAVING:

Any rules corresponding to these rules in force immediately before the commencement of these rules and applicable to the Government servants to whom these rules apply, are hereby repealed:

Provided that any order made or action taken under the rules so repealed shall be deemed to have been made or taken under the corresponding provisions of these rules:

Provided further that such repeal shall not affect the previous operation of the rules so repealed and a contravention of any of the said rules shall be punishable as if it were a contravention of these rules.

Next week We are dealing with the Constitutional Safe guard provided to the Government employees.

Click the below link to view

Conduct & Disciplinary Rules - 7

Conduct & Disciplinary Rules - 6

Conduct & Disciplinary Rules - 5

Conduct & Disciplinary Rules - 4

Conduct & Disciplinary Rules - 3

Conduct & Disciplinary Rules - 2

Conduct & Disciplinary Rules - 1

……… To be continued……